Calling all true chocolate lovers here! Get ready to bask in some refined sugar-free chocolate goodness.
If you’re like me, you’ll agree that the best part of french silk pie is the rich chocolate mousse filling. Lighter than air, yet totally rich and chocolatey – that stuff is near to heaven. I don’t see that chocolate mousse much and it seemed a shame that it should be confined to pie.
Now, if you’re still with me on this, we’ll also agree that brownies are… perfect. Brownies are perfect for endless flavor combinations with sturdy, dense bases. They are thick and chewy – perfect for chocolate mousse “frosting”. You agree, right?
Imagine biting into this silky, chocolate mousse followed by a super dense chocolate brownie (that just happens to be gluten-free). These brownies are exactly what they appear to be! And made with all natural ingredients! The powers of coconut sugar really shine in this dessert. Coconut sugar gets whipped into a dream for the chocolate mousse but then caramelizes for the gluten-free brownies.
These bars are so thick, so sweet, so rich and so filling – be warned! They are not for the chocolate faint of heart! They might send you into that wonderful state of “chocolate coma”… which in my experience, was never a bad thing.
French Silk Brownies
Gluten-Free Brownies:
3 ounces unsweetened Chocolate, melted
1 cup Neutral Oil (like grape seed oil) or Butter, melted
2 1/2 cups Coconut Sugar
4 Large Eggs
1/2 teaspoon Natural Butter Extract (optional)
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch
1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon Cocoa
2 Tablespoons Almond Flour
Chocolate Mousse:
3/4 cup Soy-Free Earth Balance Butter, softened or Organic Butter
1 1/4 cup Coconut Sugar (please do NOT substitute this for any other sweetener!)
5 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
3 Large Organic Fresh Eggs (if the eggs used are small or medium, increase to 4 eggs)
3 drops Fresh Lemon Juice
Vegan Whipped Cream or regular Whipped Cream (optional, but recommended!)
2 Tablespoons Chocolate Curls or Shavings (Optional)
Grease a 9 x 9 baking dish and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine the melted chocolate, oil, and coconut sugar. Slowly add eggs and mix. Whisk in the extracts, salt, cornstarch, cocoa and flour together. Pour mixture in the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool completely before adding the chocolate mousse.
In an electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter and coconut sugar on high speed until completely smooth and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. If the mixture is not fluffy, the butter was too soft. Be sure to beat until the coconut sugar is completely dissolved. Add the cocoa, vanilla and salt and mix until combined. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating 4-5 minutes with each egg. Add lemon juice with the last egg and beat until totally smooth and fluffy.
Spread mousse on cooled brownies and freeze for 1 hour. Remove from freezer, cut into squares and garnish with cream and chocolate shavings. Store covered in the fridge.
Notes
The lemon juice is added to the chocolate mousse due to the raw eggs. You can’t taste the lemon juice, but the lemon juices acidity neutralizes the eggs making it safer to consume. Please use caution for the pregnant, ill or elderly.
Based on 21 Review(s)
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Roma Luscombe says
In the French silk brownies why are you using “Vegan” whipped cream then using 3 lg. eggs? I was excited to make these for my Vegan daughter-in-law till I saw the eggs. Vegan products are more expensive so I try to only use them in Vegan receipts. I will try them without the topping, but I’m sure they are better with it.
Natural Sweet Recipes says
Hi Roma, the vegan whipped cream is listed as an option for people who would like to keep this recipe dairy-free. The recipe is for a whipped cream made from coconut milk – so its pretty affordable. Please use regular whipped cream if you’d rather, either will taste great!
Ellen says
Is there a replacement for almond flour? I’m slightly allergic to almonds so almond flour may not work for me.
Marika says
Amazing !!! Follow the directions carefully & you will have the best brownies ever! Boyfriend loves these so much more than traditional brownies. Rich & decadent – an absolute keeper of a recipe…..thank you for sharing!
Amber-Rose says
These turned out DELICIOUS! My whole family loved it and so did the lucky friends I shared it with. Thank you!
Sharon Kekllogg says
You have a lot of items that I did not have. My coconut sugar is brown and grainey. Thus it never would be smooth and fluffy. What was wrong.? It would never be dissolved. It diden’t look difficult to make but it was. Tell me about the sugar? Is it supposed to be grainey?
Natural Sweet Recipes says
Hi Sharon, I’m sorry this recipe was a bit difficult. The coconut sugar I use is granulated. I’m not sure I’ve seen coconut sugar come in anything but a granulated sweetener. The French Silk part of this is not supposed to be grainy and that is why you beat it with the butter. Beating the butter and coconut sugar is really important with this recipe to make it smooth and fluffy just like if you beat butter with regular sugar. If it’s very granulated, it just needs a longer beating. It’s okay if it doesn’t dissolve perfectly after beating, it dissolves more once you add the eggs and chill it. Hope that helps!
Marika says
I noticed that the texture changed after I added each egg. Perfect, rich, creamy & incredible
Gina M Claerbaut says
You could pulse the coconut sugar in a food processor or vitamix.
Jayden says
These were SO fabulous! BEST BROWNIES IN THE WORLD! I can’t believe it took me so long to make these. MAKE THESE!! They are a game changer.
Tracy says
Why are there no nutrition stats on this!
Linda fogarty says
I cannot wait to make these. Can you tell me approximately how many calories are in them?
Lisa says
Would it work substituting coconut flour for the almond flour?
Natural Sweet Recipes says
Coconut flour will not work this recipe. Thank you!
Sandi Biquet says
Everything sounds good in this recipe but the Natural Butter Extract. It contains propylene glycol and natural flavor. Neither one of those ingredients would be healthy. It would be best to eliminate that extract from this recipe. Also it’s important to read what ingredients are listed with other extracts. When the use the wording ‘other natural flavor” they are hiding the fact that there are preservatives in it.
Natural Sweet Recipes says
The butter extract is optional. Feel free to omit.
Karen says
I agree & would also omit that & the grapeseed oil which is not healthy as it is the highest in Omega 6’s so I would substitute with butter or coconut oil
Karen says
That being said, I can’t wait to try this for this weekend….looks & sounds delish! Thank you!
Paleo Moxie says
I thought this was great!! Shared with family. Everyone thought it was very good but rich. If you like light recipes, this is not one of them. But it’s very good! I used a different butter than what was recommended because I forgot to buy it! So my mousse wasn’t especially thick. I was also low on coconut sugar and couldn’t believe I used SO much for these. So I cut the mousse recipe in half and it was still fine. They’re very good, but I loved the buttery mousse, despite using a different butter! Overall easy to make. I used arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch since it’s apparently healthier and all I had. Worked perfectly. Highly recommend trying. I’m Paleo but do the butter thing occasionally so this was perfect.
Natural Sweet Recipes says
Hello Moxie, thank you for sharing! Yes, they are rich, but definitely worth it once in awhile. :) We’re glad you liked them!
Drew says
Are these really gluten free? Wow! This is amazing.
Annie says
Yes!!! And nobody will be able to tell the difference!
Kristen O'Bey says
what is natural butter extract and can I substitute something else while still making the recipe dairy free?
Annie says
Hi Kristen, we really like this product, but you are welcome to omit it. It just gives an added depth of flavor to the brownies. If you want the butter flavor, you can use melted Earth Balance Butter instead of the oil but it is not necessary. I hope you enjoy these!
Anya says
Organic butter does not sound Dairy Free
Annie says
Anya, these brownies are only dairy-free if you use the earth balance butter (it’s a natural vegan butter product). Since many of our readers are not dairy-free, we like to make sure they are aware that they can still use regular organic butter. Thanks for the comment so we could clarify!
Elizabeth Baldes says
Hi! Can you substitute egg replacer in this recipe or possibly bananas or another binding agent?
Annie says
Hi Elizabeth, we have not tested this recipe with an egg substitute. I’m sorry!
Keagan says
This brownie base might be the best brownies I’ve ever EVER made!!! The mouse is fantastic it’s best to use one of the butters. Great recipe!
Anonymous says
Why is coconut sugar a healthier substitute for regular sugar or any other sweetener??
Annie says
Hi there! Coconut sugar is a sweetener that comes from the sap of the coconut tree. Unlike regular refined sugar, it is not heavily processed with added chemicals to it. We don’t avoid sugar just for it’s effect on our blood sugar levels or that it lacks nutrients. We also avoid it because it has very harmful chemicals added to it and is actually toxic to our bodies. Coconut sugar is a pure sweetener. All the sweeteners that we use on our site, we source from good companies that minimally process (or don’t process at all) their products. I hope that helps answer your question!
Anna says
Mousse did not thicken. Did everything as in the recipe. Any tips?
Annie says
Hi Anna, I am soo sorry! Were the oils you used soft, soft like butter? The coconut oil can NOT be runny at all. Perhaps it’s easiest to use all earth balance butter if you don’t have softened coconut oil. Also, did you use all coconut sugar? NO other sweetener will work quite the same. Also the eggs used need to be large. I believe those are the factors that would effect the mousse. If you want to salvage it, you could add up to a tablespoon of cornstarch and a tad bit more cocoa and coconut sugar to help thicken it. I am so sorry and I will edit the recipe to be more detailed for those ingredients.
Annie says
Hi Lisa, readers were having inconsistent results with the coconut oil so we just changed all the oil to the butter. If you added 3/4 cup of the butter to the recipe, than you added enough. I will edit the directions to make it more clear. I also think perhaps if you used the earth balance butter, the soy-free version may create the best results. If it is not thickening up, you can add some cornstarch and maybe more cocoa powder. Let me know if you changed anything else in the recipe and I can come up with other suggestions to fix this. I hope that helps and it thickens alright. :)
Lynn Wadelton says
Help! The mousse is not thickening! Have beaten each egg at high speed for 5 min.
Company coming in an hour!
Thanks!
Annie says
Sorry, Lynn! Hope this was resolved.. not sure what happened but if you give us some more details maybe we can help figure out what went wrong.
Annie @Maebells says
Yum!!! These look so super indulgent! I can’t wait to try them!
Gracie says
OH yum!!!!!!!! These look like they came straight from chocolate heaven!
Medeja says
This recipe is for me! I am true chocolate lover! :) Irresistibly looking brownies.